A Veela in Need
by AirshipHead
Summary: Harry is depressed after Ginny's death and is called out on a rescue mission to France, where a certain little Blonde Veela is being attacked. Harry/Gabrielle. Rated M for language and sexual situations.
1. A Veela in Need

_**A Veela in Need**_

_No doubt most of you know about my defensive soul bond story. That is still my main story, so don't worry about lack of updates. I have far too much free time on my hands and I love writing. So enjoy this, there aren't enough Harry/Gabrielle fics, and yes, I do know how to get around the age gap. It's all about the time period, and the fact Gabrielle is just a tiny bit older than she is in canon :P_

Harry Potter was depressed. He came out of fighting Voldemort a hero. He went back to school for his final year and aced his N.E.W.T.s. He became an Auror, and in an extremely short space of time, became head of the department and was responsible for putting a great deal of the remaining Death Eaters behind bars. It became literally impossible for Harry to get any more famous. Every girl wanted him, and every guy wanted to be him. But he wasn't interested. He knew most girls were in it for the fame, or the money, which he had a ridiculous amount of thanks to numerous family fortunes he gained from being the Head of the Black family. He lived in Grimmauld Place, turned into a glorious house by Kreacher, who has turned into a fine house elf. All of this would have made a typical guy happy, and Harry was happy, for a while. He came out of his shell, being able to enjoy life, he accepted his greatness, instead of trying to convince himself of mediocrity. He picked things up with Ginny almost immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts. He loved her, he gave himself to her. And then, tragedy struck. Ginny was taken from him, by a Muggle car no less. Harry was taught to drive the Muggle way, thinking it useful, and decided to train Ginny in driving too, so they both could. She had passed her driving test. They were both over the moon, so over the moon in fact, Ginny wanted to take a drive to get some food from the shop round the corner. She didn't even need to make the trip at all, driving or not. She didn't make it back. Harry blamed himself for her death, he shut himself off from everyone, not allowing anyone to visit him. His hygiene was becoming awful. Simply put, he was absolutely devastated. He couldn't even see a light at the end of the tunnel. He carried on at work like a robot, barely talking to anyone. Suffice to say, everyone was extremely worried about him. But he allowed no-one in the house. He was alone, and he was depressed.

Harry downed his fifth shot of firewhiskey that evening. The bottle was almost empty, he would have to get more. The burning sensation just wasn't there any more. He was too used to it, still, the Firewhiskey contained a tiny bit of comfort, he needed it. It was the month after Ginny's death, and Harry still hadn't done anything or seen anyone. He attended Ginny's funeral, but left almost immediately after the proceedings, not wanting to linger any longer than he needed to. There was a small voice in his head, saying Ginny would not have wanted him to be like this, she would have wanted him to find a new woman, someone who could look after him, but he ignored it. The firewhiskey meant a lot less emotional pain.

His fireplace flared green, Harry rolled his eyes, it was probably something unimportant. To his surprise, Kingsley Shacklebot's head appeared in the fireplace. Harry bent down to greet the Minister for Magic. Kingsleys face was grim.

"I've had a call from the Aurors in France" Kingsley said in his slow measured voice. "They need backup and now. The remaining Death Eaters have decided to attack the French Ministers château in Normandy, and the Aurors need help. Since you know long distance Apparition, do you think you could go?" He asked.

Harry sighed. "Who's the French minister again?"

"A man called Dominique Delacour" Kingsley said.

Harry's eyes widened. The Delacours were the heads of France? He knew them quite well through Fleur, but he hadn't seen them in a while, the Death Eaters just made things personal.

"I'll go" He said simply.

A look of relief appeared on Kingsleys face.

"I'll send the others over by International Portkey." He said, and his head disappeared. Harry sighed as he got up, he may have been depressed, but there was still a part of him that strived to help those in need. He grabbed his wand, and thought of Monsieur Delacour's large Château, which Harry had visited once before. He turned on the spot, and vanished.

Harry opened his eyes and took a lungful of air. There was a group of about 10 people in Death Eater robes, who had just broken the wards on the house. They then rushed in, overwhelming the defence that the French Aurors had set up. Harry shook his head. He knew the French were quite inexperienced in fighting the Dark Arts and he knew they would pay for that mistake sooner or later. He rushed towards the house, not bothering to wait for backup. He didn't like to brag, but after a course in advanced fighting, he took on a group of at least 8 Death Eaters and won, single handedly. He wasn't worried for his own safety, he was worried for the safety of the people in the house. He shook his head again as he passed the bodies of the Aurors that had tried to defend the house. He burst through the front door, and in the main entrance, he saw 8 of the Death Eaters crowding around something. They turned around at the sound of him entering. He quickly bowled them over with a blasting curse, and proceeded to fire off Body Bind curses to keep them in check. His heart caught in his throat as he saw the sight in front of him. Both Monsieur and Madame Delacour were dead, in each others arms. He checked their bodies. They were still warm, meaning the death had only been seconds before. He started to go red with anger. As far as he was concerned, he had failed them. He turned around to go report to Kingsley when he heard a scream from upstairs. He cursed as he remembered the Delacour's daughter Gabrielle, who must have been home for the summer. He dashed up the stairs as fast as he could, knowing he only had seconds before she ended up with the same fate as her parents.

Gabrielle was scared witless. Her parents had told her to wait upstairs while they took care of the problem. The noises she heard were horrible. The screams from downstairs where the Aurors were overwhelmed, and she swore she heard the screams of her parents. She wanted more than anything to see if they were OK, but she saw two Death Eaters walk up the stairs as she peeked outside her room. They spotted her, and she ducked back into her room, trying to hold the door closed. Tears were running down her face as the Death Eaters blew the door open. She backed away from them, eyes wide in fear. She tripped and fell down, losing one of her heeled shoes as she tried to scramble into the corner of her room. The Death Eaters laughed at her. One of them raised their wand...

"_Stupefy!" _a voice screamed, as Gabrielle watched the Death Eaters crumple. Relief washed over her as she checked for her saviour. She gasped in recognition. Harry Potter was standing in front of her, his wand raised still.

Harry ran into the room, and saw two Death Eaters closing in on Gabrielle, who had huddled into a corner. One of her shoes was missing, and Harry spotted it on the floor in front of her. One of the Death Eaters raised his wand and Harry reacted instantly and stunned them both. They crumpled. Harry started to take a step towards her. She had tears running down her face, but that didn't stop her ravishing beauty, her silky blonde hair, her beautiful crystal blue eyes, her enticing curves, her shapely breasts... Harry shook his head, he knew she was part Veela, and didn't want to get enticed. He walked up to her.

"Are you OK?" Harry asked. He didn't even know if she spoke English or not.

"Yes, thank you." Gabrielle said shakily. Her English was surprisingly perfect. Harry picked up her shoe, and without saying a word, placed it on her dainty foot. She stood up. She seemed to study him carefully, before letting out a sob and threw herself into his arms, crying quite heavily.

"You saved my life again, I can't ever repay you!" She sobbed into his chest. Harry just stood there, mechanically rubbing her back, holding back the news she would not want to hear. Harry held her at arms length and looked directly into her gorgeous eyes.

"There's something...you have to know" He began, not wanting to be the person to break the news to her. "You're parents...didn't make it." He sighed. He saw her eyes fill with tears once more, and she threw herself into his arms again, crying even louder. Seeing the devastation in front of him, nearly set Harry off. He simply rubbed her back, knowing it was best if she let out her emotions now, instead of bottling them up. He heard a large_ crack _outside, and he rolled his eyes as backup arrived far too late. He put his arm around Gabrielle, and led her downstairs. She saw the bodies of her parents and burst into tears again. She ran out of Harry's embrace and knelt down beside her mother's body, weeping. Harry got a surge of anger and he ran outside to meet the incompetent fools that were his Auror department. Some more French Aurors had also arrived. The English Aurors saw their boss stomping towards them and gulped. Harry's temper was feared in the Ministry. He faced them and glared.

"What time do you call this?" He said, sounding oddly like a mother. Before anyone could answer, he started bellowing.

"THERE ARE 12 PEOPLE DEAD IN THERE. THE FRENCH MINISTER FOR MAGIC, HIS WIFE AND 10 AURORS! THERE IS NOW AN ORPHANED GIRL WITH NO PLACE TO GO IN THERE WEEPING OVER HER DEAD PARENTS! ALL BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH! I WANT YOU ALL TO MAKE YOURSELVES USEFUL AND CART THE DEATH EATERS OFF TO AZKABAN BEFORE I TAKE YOU THERE MYSELF!"

At his words, the Aurors literally ran towards the house and instantly started a clean up, not wanting to get in Harry's bad books more than they already were. He spotted a beginner Auror, Auror Abercrombie, who was visibly shaking. He turned towards him, and he froze. Harry's face softened a little.

"Bring Minister Kingsley here, I need to speak with him about what happened and what will happen to the French Minister's daughter." The Auror nodded and vanished. Harry sighed and made his way back towards the house. After witnessing Gabrielle's devastation like that, it reminded Harry of himself, just one month earlier. He related to her pain, having watched many people die over the course of his lifetime. He knew she had no place to go. Since the Chateau was the place of a Death Eater attack, no-one could inhabit it for up to a year after the attack, all family assets would also be frozen in case the Death Eaters took over the family. It was a new law that was passed by the MEU (Magical European Union). Fleur and Bill would probably take her in, but he knew they were going through rough times after a recent pay cut in Gringotts bank. He was tempted to take her in himself, but he didn't know the laws for immigration, and it was her choice above everything else. Two days earlier, and he wouldn't have cared. But the recent events woke him up, and saw it wasn't only him that suffered in the world. Hermione and Ron would probably smile at a bit of the real Harry returning, but he shoved those thoughts aside, as the Minister appeared before him.

"What's the situation?" Kingsley asked urgently.

"The French Minister is dead, along with his wife, and 10 French Aurors" Harry said and Kingsley cursed. "I'm having the Aurors clean up and cart the Death Eaters to Azkaban"

Kingsley nodded. "Excellent job Harry, Why did you call me out here?"

"We need someone to discuss the issue with the French Ministry, and we have a problem in the form of Gabrielle Delacour, who now has no place to go due to her house being attacked by Death Eaters, leaving her unable to live there. Her family's assets have also been frozen for the same reason. She has family in Britain, but they are going through a rough time financially, and have had to move to a smaller apartment with next to no room."

Kingsley nodded "I would usually leave this to the French Ministry..." He began.

Harry cut across him "I understand that sir, but the French Ministry is going to be busy dealing with the death of it's Minister. I've come up with an idea, but you might not agree"

Kingsley nodded again. "Go on..." he said slowly.

"I could take her in." Harry said. "I feel partially responsible for not acting quick enough, and Grimmauld Place has at least 12 bedrooms. I'm not sure about the laws on magical immigration though."

"I could easily get her a visa in a couple of days due to the fact I'm minister. If she agrees with your proposal, it should be allowed. I don't see any law against it, especially if she's at the age of majority."

Harry nodded. "I believe she's 17 next month sir."

Kingsley nodded again. "Right, I will go to the French Ministry and inform them properly of what's happened. If you could deal with the cleanup and Miss Delacour, I think we can call it a day."

Harry nodded "Bye, Minister." He said.

Kingsley nodded once more and vanished in a swirl of robes.

Harry sighed as he made his way back to the house. The Aurors had finished their cleanup and left Gabrielle with her parents. She was sitting on a chair nearby, staring at the bodies with tears flooding down her beautiful face.

Harry conjured a chair and sat down next to her.

"I need to talk to you about what happens now" He began. Gabrielle simply nodded in reply.

"Since this house has been subject to a Death Eater attack, no-one can live in it for a year and all your family's assets have been frozen to stop Death Eater access. Unfortunately, this cannot be undone. I know you have Bill and Fleur, who live in Britain, but they are going through a rough time financially, and have had to seek smaller living space. So, what I've proposed is, that you stay with me for a while."

Gabrielle looked at him for a moment, before more tears started to form and she hugged him again.

"Oh, Thank you! Thank you! I was so worried I would have nowhere to go, I thought I would be homeless, you keep saving me!"

Harry felt his voice crack with emotion as he looked at her.

"Do you wish to pack some things then?" He asked.

She slowly nodded as she went upstairs to her room. Harry smiled, he was glad to at least make her slightly happy. He really felt her pain. Harry looked at the bodies of Monsieur and Madame Delacour. He sighed, as he conjured a sheet and covered them up. He sincerely hoped that the French Ministry would deal with the arrangements for a funeral. That would be too much for such a young girl.

Soon, Gabrielle came downstairs holding a suitcase and a large bag. She looked at her parent's bodies again, and another tear fell down her cheek as she blew them a kiss. Harry then motioned for her to take his arm and she obliged, as he apparated back to Grimmauld place. As soon as he arrived, he dropped Gabrielle's arm and called for Kreacher, who appeared instantly.

"What is it that master requires?" Kreacher asked.

"I need you to make up a bedroom for my guest. Please make it the one next to mine, she wont want to be alone." Gabrielle blushed at his words as she looked around, obviously impressed with Harry's house. Kreacher bowed low and vanished, leaving Harry with Gabrielle. He led her into the lounge, where there was still a nearly empty bottle of Firewhiskey sitting on the table. He led her to a sofa and sat her down, and he plonked himself down next to her.

"Are you OK?" He said.

"No" Gabrielle admitted. "There's a lot going on here I don't understand, and a few things I need to explain to you." She paused for a moment. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

Harry's stomach knotted at her words and he didn't answer. Gabrielle's face fell as she saw his reaction.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know..." She began.

Harry hushed her.

"It isn't your fault. You couldn't have known. Don't worry about it."

She visibly filled with relief at his words. She turned away, obviously embarrassed by something.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"I need to tell you something really important" Gabrielle said. "But I know you're going to hate me for it"

Harry paused. What could make him hate her? "What is it? I promise I wont be angry."

She sighed once before continuing. "Remember you saved me during the Triwizard Tournament?" She asked.

Harry remembered well and he nodded. "But you weren't in any danger..." he began.

"You're part right" Gabrielle replied. "The others weren't in danger. But I was"

"How?" Harry asked.

"Merpeople and Veela are enemies in the natural world. The merpeople of your lake saw a chance to kill a Veela and they were going to take it, when you rescued me."

The full weight of Harry's actions was now on him. No wonder Fleur was so relieved when Harry saved Gabrielle.

"You also saved my life today. There is this custom due to my Veela heritage. If a person is to save a Veela's life twice. The Veela...owes their life to that person."

Harry wasn't quite following. "Like a Wizarding debt?" He asked.

"No... It's much more than that. If a Veela owes a person their life. It is literally their life. The Veela...chooses that person as their mate"

As she said those words, she seemed to cower away from him, like he was an animal about to strike, but she kept an eye on him and waited for his reaction. Harry sighed and covered his face with his hands. He felt overloaded. He was still recovering from what happened to Ginny. Then he watched 12 people die when it was his job to protect them. He thought he was doing the right thing by bringing Gabrielle back with him, but this revelation complicated things. She was beautiful, yes, but he felt guilty because of Ginny. She would probably be egging him on at this point. She would have probably been upset with how he took her death. She would want him to be happy, but was this too soon?

"I'm sorry" Gabrielle said, standing up. "I can tell you don't want me here, I'll leave" she started walking out the door. Harry stood up and grabbed her arm.

"What are you on about? Of course I want you here. I'm sure you're a lovely person Gabrielle, and one I could probably fall in love with, but I'm still confused over Ginny's death. You're revelation just...shocked me that's all."

Gabrielle's eyes filled with tears again, but these were tears of joy as she basically jumped into his arms. "You're so nice to me!" She sobbed.

Kreacher took that exact moment to return.

"Your room is ready miss" He said, bowing low at her. "If you would like, I could show you to it."

Gabrielle turned to Harry, and he knew what she was going to say before she said it. She needed comfort, and she certainly didn't need to sleep alone.

"It's OK Kreacher. I'll take it from here. Could you take some night clothes from her luggage and place them on my bed?"

"Of course, Master" Kreacher bowed again, and disappeared.

"You've just had a traumatic experience" Harry said to Gabrielle. "I know from experience, it's always good to have someone there to comfort you, so you will sleep in my bed tonight."

Gabrielle's eyes lit up again and she hugged him once more as he led her upstairs to his room. He showed her into his en suite bathroom to get changed, while he stayed in his room. He quickly stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. He was still of two minds about the whole situation. Was it right to sleep in the same bed as Gabrielle? He had done it before with Hermione, but only for warmth and emotional comfort. He sighed as he laid back. He was tired. It had been an extremely long day.

Gabrielle closed the bathroom door and sighed. Half from grief for her parents, but also half in happiness as she was sharing a bed with Harry Potter, the boy she had dreamed about ever since she was 8 years old. She had always dreamed about him saving her from evil, then the two of them going to his bedroom. Sure, the more graphic part of the dream wasn't going to happen. But, she got most of it. She slipped off her heels, and pulled her dress over her head. That evening she was planning to go to a formal ball with her parents, but alas, she didn't. Secretly she was pleased as she didn't like being in public due to all the looks she got, but then she felt guilty again and more tears rolled down her cheeks. She pulled a nightgown on, grabbed her clothes and opened the door to Harry's room.

Gabrielle walked in, holding the clothes she was wearing and wearing a silk nightgown that would have made any man drool, including Harry if he wasn't so confused. That didn't stop him from staring with his mouth wide open though. She giggled at his reaction and placed her clothes neatly on a chair near Harry's bed. She shyly made her way to the bed and crawled under the covers. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into his arms, but he might reject her. She didn't want that. So it was with immense surprise that he wrapped his arms around her and crawled up against her. He must have been really lonely to do that to someone he didn't know that well. Ginny's death must have hit him hard. She felt his groin against her back and blushed, but before she could say anything, he was fast asleep. She wanted to cry over the loss of her parents, but Harry's embrace was so comforting, she closed her eyes and was also asleep.

_Yeah, I'm writing a Harry/Gabrielle fic. Shoot me. I dare you :P I might as well tell you I support multiple pairings when it comes to Harry Potter. Harry/Ginny Harry/Hermione Harry/Gabrielle Harry/Luna and even Harry/Susan Bones due to a couple of Harem fics. I refuse to put Ron and Draco with anyone because I hate them so much :P Harry can have the lot as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, when I upload the next chapter for the Defensive Soul Bond, I will mention what I'm about to say. It's a little challenge for my readers. I want you to read this and DSB, and find something I mention quite often. It's a clue to my personality. I will have you try and guess that :P_

_Good luck :D_

_P.S. Anatomy._


	2. Reunited

_**Chapter 2**_

_The reception so far has been pretty good, so I decided to write a new chapter :D Please enjoy :D (warning, this one will be shorter, it's my writing style. I hope you understand.)_

Harry slowly opened his eyes. That was the first decent night sleep he had since Ginny died. It was too bad he had a slight headache. He shouldn't have drunk that much firewhiskey, it always led to rash decisions. He tried to roll over, but something was obstructing him. It was Gabrielle. The previous day's events came flooding back to him, and he jumped out of bed, like a crazy flea. Gabrielle rolled over and smiled at him.

"Good morning!" She said brightly.

"Why the hell are you in my bed Gabrielle?" Harry asked, maybe a little too harshly.

Gabrielle looked hurt. "You let me. You said it was bad to sleep alone after a traumatic experience."

"I shouldn't have said that, I had too much firewhiskey, and it's disrespectful to Ginny..." he trailed off as tears filled his eyes. "Ginny!" he moaned, as he collapsed into depressed sobs.

Gabrielle was shocked to say the least. She had never seen someone this depressed. She wrapped her arms around him, using her Veela magic to try and soothe him. His sobs stopped and he looked at her.

"Thanks. I needed that. Still, I should be the one who's strong and supportive, not the other way around. I'm sorry you had to see that."

Gabrielle then did something surprising. She slapped him!

"You have your priorities wrong mister! Do you really think Ginny would want to see you like this? Would she want to see you abandoning everyone you know, and getting depressed and drunk?"

Harry felt like a child being scolded by his mother as he slowly shook his head. "She would call me a baby and tell me to move on." He said, with a watery chuckle. Then he looked at Garbrielle.

"You just lost your parents though. Why aren't you going crazy with grief?" He asked.

"I am part Veela, we project happy emotions on to others. It's easy to keep my own in check, and once they are, my sensible side takes over. I'm being told by my head that my parents would hate to see me cry and grieve. They would want me to move on, be happy, and find a good man." She blushed at the last part. Thankfully for her, Harry was feeling quite dense. "People call us insensitive, as we never spend long grieving past the original shock of the event. Sure, I'm devastated, but if I let it get to me, I will die."

Harry admired her bravery. Ginny had been dead for over a month, and he hadn't gotten over her at all, yet here was Gabrielle, putting on a brave face, just the morning after her parents were slaughtered. It made him take a long hard look at himself, and what Ginny would think if she saw him like this. Gabrielle was a huge wake up call, and he was immensely grateful. He suddenly pulled her into a hug, which she gasped at, but then sighed contendedly.

"What was that for?" She said.

"Being the best, and making me see how rubbish I've been acting." Harry chuckled.

She giggled as they broke apart.

"I have a day off today." Harry said. "Do you think I should visit my friends?"

"That might be a good idea, it will help you get over the feelings easier." Gabrielle replied.

"I've locked the floo in this house to everyone except the Auror department, and the house is under some of the best wards I could muster. They must be really worried about me. I'll go to Ron and Hermione's first." Harry said. "Do you want to come with me? If not, Kreacher will look after you."

Gabrielle seemed to ponder for a moment and shrugged. "Ok, I wouldn't want to be in such an odd house by myself."

Harry laughed. "Even though it's clean now, I still get the creeps in some rooms in this house. At least I finally got rid of that damn painting."

Harry and Ginny had had enough of Mrs. Black's screaming and moaning the previous year, so they hit her with a blasting curse. That ended her.

Harry walked over to the fireplace, and picked up his pot of Floo Powder. He took a pinch, dropped it in and then stuck his head through the fireplace. He emerged a few moments later looking pleased.

"I just had a word with the floo department, the house now has connections with the Burrow, Ron and Hermione's house, The Leaky Cauldron, and the Three Broomsticks. It sure beats Apparating anyway." He took another pinch of powder, and offered Gabrielle his arm.

"Ron and Hermione's House!" Harry said clearly, as he stepped into the fire with Gabrielle and vanished.

Hermione rubbed her pregnant belly and sighed. She was worried about Harry. Ginny's death had hit everyone hard, but she was especially concerned with Harry's reaction. She hadn't even seen him in a month. Harry hadn't been this depressed since Sirius died. She just hoped he was OK.

Suddenly the floo roared. Hermione grinned. It was probably Ron checking up on her. Ever since she fell pregnant, he had been checking up on her at least five times a day, even though pregnancies lasted nine months and she had only been pregnant three weeks. She slowly got up and padded over to the living room. She really did look like the stereotypical pregnant mother, with a loose shirt, rolled up jeans and bare feet.

"Ron, I told you I'm..." Hermione broke off as she saw who was standing in front of her. It was Harry, and he looked positively awful. He was unshaven, his clothes looked quite dirty, and his hair was even messier than it was usual. Hermione could have sworn she also saw smudges on his glasses. He was accompanied by a beautiful blonde woman, who looked quite scared.

"Hello Hermione." Harry said nervously.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she launched herself into his arms. "We've been so worried about you, and you haven't contacted us or anything! You complete prat!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've been moping around the house for the last month. It hasn't been good for me." Harry said.

Hermione looked pointedly at Gabrielle. "And who's this?" She said, with a hint of suspicion.

"Oh, yes, this is Fleur's sister Gabrielle. I was sent on a mission last night to stop a Death Eater attack in France, but I was too late. Gabrielle's parents were killed, and since she can't live anywhere where Death Eaters have attacked or access any of her assets, I invited her to live with me for a while."

Hermione looked shocked and pulled Gabrielle into a hug. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know, I thought you were a girlfriend or something!" she said.

Gabrielle blushed. "It's nothing, really."

Hermione thought for a moment and gasped. "Does Fleur know yet?" She asked.

Harry blanched. "I completely forgot about Fleur. Hang on a sec." and he disapparated. Hermione led Gabrielle into a seat, and they waited in comfortable silence. Five minutes later, Harry apparated back. He turned to Hermione.

"Can we use your floo?" He asked.

Hermione nodded, and Harry led Gabrielle to the fireplace.

"You should be able to Floo to Fleur's from here. Have some time with your sister, and come back when your ready, OK?" He said.

Gabrielle nodded, before kissing his cheek, and disappearing into the fireplace. Harry was left with Hermione.

"You going to tell Ron I'm here?" He asked. Hermione's eyes widened, and without another word, she walked over to the fireplace, grabbed some floo powder and stuck her head through it. Two minutes later, she emerged.

"Ron will be in here in a sec." she said.

Almost as soon as she finished her sentence, the fire roared green and Ron stepped through, looking excited. He took a look around the room and spotted Harry.

"Alright mate?" Harry said awkwardly.

Ron stepped forward a bit, then punched him. Harry reeled, clutching his face.

"That's for being a prick and not contacting us!" He said, then grinned.

Harry stood up, massaging his cheek.

"It's alright, it's exactly what I deserved," he said, and they hugged.

"So what finally brought you out of that hole then?" Ron said.

"Gabrielle Delacour." Harry said. When Ron looked confused, he elaborated.

"I was sent on an emergency Auror mission yesterday to deal with some Death Eaters in France. I got there too late, and Monsieur and Madame Delacour were murdered. I managed to save Gabrielle and she's living with me, due to that damn law set up about Death Eater attacks. Lets say she put me back on track, and I realised how stupid I've being, and how upset Ginny would be if she saw me like this."

Ron averted his eyes when he mentioned Ginny. Harry could tell he was dealing with her death admirably, but it still shook him.

"Well, anyway, I'm glad your back from the land of the dead. Once I'm finished with work, do you want to come over for dinner? You can bring Gabrielle with you if you like."

Harry nodded. "She's with her sister at the moment, so I don't know how long she will be. I just need to clean up, I look like crap."

Ron and Hermione both nodded in agreement, and Harry laughed and headed towards the fireplace. "I'll see you soon then" he said.

"You had better." Ron growled, and Harry headed back to Grimmauld Place with a rare smile on his face.

Gabrielle stepped out of the floo, into a surprisingly small and grimy flat. Out came Fleur, who was holding a baby.

"Gabrielle!" she gasped. She carefully put down the baby, and embraced her little sister. Gabrielle hugged her sister back, with tears coming down her face in fear of telling her sister the bad news.

"What are you doing here?" Fleur said, in French.

"Was there anything in the Daily Prophet today about a Death Eater attack in France?" Gabrielle asked quietly.

"Yes, but there wasnt any specifics, only that English Aurors had to help. Why, what happened?" Fleur said, already catching on to what the conversation was leading to.

"The Death Eaters attacked our Chateau" Gabrielle said.

"Oh my, what happened, where are Maman and Papa?" Fleur said shakily.

"They're gone" Gabrielle said, and the two burst into tears and held each other for comfort. After 15 minutes of good honest sobbing, they broke apart.

"How did you escape?" Fleur asked.

"Harry Potter is an Auror, he was called to help us. He saved my life."

"Again? But that means..." Fleur broke off.

"Yes, he's now my mate." Gabrielle said quietly.

Harry felt great after a long shower, a shave and putting on some clean clothes. He cleaned his glasses, and he put away the bottles of Firewhiskey. He would become stronger. For Ginny's sake as much as his own.

As he was walking downstairs, he heard the fireplace roar, and Gabrielle emerged, looking crestfallen.

"How did it go?" Harry said gently.

"We got some crying done. Fleur is devastated, but Bill is comforting her. I needed to be with her for at least a bit though. She supports me living with you by the way."

Harry smiled at her. "Ron and Hermione have asked both of us to dinner? You want to come?" he asked.

Gabrielle's eyes lightened a bit. "Of course! I shall get changed, I wont be long." She then went upstairs looking happier. Harry grinned at her, and sat down in front of the fireplace. He had barely lived with the girl 24 hours, and she already turned him around. A crashing from the stairs, alerted Harry and he dashed towards the stairs, seeing Gabrielle lying in a heap, missing a shoe. He fought back an urge to laugh.

"That's what happens when girls wear heels. More trouble than they're worth." Harry laughed.

Groggily, Gabrielle sat up, but when she tried to stand, she felt a gasp of pain. Harry suspected a sprained ankle. He rolled his eyes, took her foot gently in his hand, and pointed his wand at her ankle, muttering a healing spell he learnt during his auror training. He then slowly rubbed her arches and her toes to bring feeling back into her foot.

"Wow, that feels great." Gabrielle said sighing. "Where did you learn this?"

"I took first aid training when I became an Auror. I'm not a Healer, but they say I'm pretty good."

"You got that right." Gabrielle agreed.

Harry stood up, and took her shoe from the stairs and placed it back onto her foot. She then took his hand, and stood up, testing her weight, before declaring herself OK. Harry then led her into the living room, where the fireplace was, and holding Gabrielle's arm, disappeared into the green flames.

They arrived in the living room, where Hermione and Ron were already waiting expectantly.

"You're late." Hermione huffed. "What kept you?"

"I sprained my ankle on the stairs. Harry had to fix me up."

Hermione laughed. "I remembered he had to do that to me once, it was just after he completed his Auror training, and we decided to go out celebrating. I fell down the stairs, and Harry patched me up. Feels great doesn't it?"

Gabrielle giggled lightly. "I felt like a pampered lady."

Harry blushed slightly. "Just doing my job."

Ron pitched in. "You're off duty."

"Would you rather we missed dinner for a trip to St. Mungos?" Harry shot back.

Ron fell silent. Gabrielle broke the silence.

"So, when's dinner ready?" She asked.

"It's ready, that's why Ron's in such a bad mood." Hermione laughed. Harry and Gabrielle laughed back and they all settled down at the table. They all caught up with each other, laughed and joked, and Harry felt himself having a truly decent time for the first time in ages. Since he was an Auror, he was trained to spot tiny details, and he noticed Hermione's portion was smaller than everyone elses, and she was only eating salad.

"Something wrong with your appetite Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh, we forgot to tell you! I'm pregnant!" She seemed ready to burst with the news.

Harry was overjoyed. "Congratulations! Who's godfather?" he asked, already half expecting the answer.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Well...we were thinking Neville." Ron said.

Harry's face fell a little bit before they both laughed. "Of course you're godfather you dimwit!" Ron shouted, and Harry laughed, hardly believing he fell for such a simple trick.

Soon, after relaxing on the sofa with a bottle of wine, Harry and Gabrielle announced they had to leave. Harry embraced his best friends.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you the last month guys." Harry said emotionally as he hugged Hermione.

"Honestly, it's fine, just don't do it again!" Hermione said, and Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione and Ron then gather Gabrielle into quick hugs.

"Look after him won't you?" Hermione said.

Gabrielle giggled. "I'll keep him in check." and Harry rolled his eyes as he took Gabrielle's arm and they flooed back to Grimmauld Place. Immediately, Gabrielle kicked off her shoes and rubbed her heels.

"I thought you liked those types of shoe." Harry said.

"I have to wear them thanks to my social standing" Gabrielle said sadly. "It gets annoying after a while."

"Are you OK sleeping in your room tonight, or do you want to sleep in mine again?" Harry asked.

Gabrielle blushed slightly. "Actually...I slept really well last night, so I was wondering if I could share your bed again." she said shyly.

Harry laughed. "You don't even need to ask. I slept really well too."

Gabrielle hugged Harry, and kissed him on the cheek and they went upstairs together. Harry stripped to his boxers while Gabrielle changed into a nightgown in the bathroom. They climbed into bed together and spooned against each other.

"Goodnight Gabrielle." Harry said.

"Goodnight Harry." Gabrielle replied before quickly falling asleep.

_Aww, I quite enjoyed writing that. Did you enjoy reading it though? Send any queries to my PM inbox, and please review. It means the world to me, and I always listen to my fan's opinions. See ya :D_


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